Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) (37 page)

“And you weren’t answering your phone either,”
Corbin put in. “We had hoped she went back to you and you weren’t picking up
because the two of you were…ahem,
reconciling.”

“I wasn’t picking up my phone because I was
passed out cold in a field all day,” I said roughly. “So where does that leave
Taylor?”

Addison looked upset. “We don’t know. I have no
idea where else she would go. She doesn’t talk to her parents anymore.”

“Yeah, she told me about the ‘bride of Satan’
stuff,” I said. “So where—”

Just then my cell rang and I felt a great surge
of relief. Surely that was Taylor, finally returning my calls! I fumbled my
cell out of my pocket and answered without even looking at the screen.

“Hello? Baby?” I said anxiously.

“Um, I don’t think I’m who you think I am,” said
a voice on the other end. “This is Gwendolyn LeRoux—you know, the witch you
hired? You wanted me to find the identity of the person who bought the cursed
trap that was planted on your land.”

“Oh, Gwendolyn, right.” I could feel myself
deflating. “Look, now really isn’t the best time, so—”

“Now, I know Taylor said you’ve already pretty
much figured it out,” she went on. “But there’s something beneath the
obvious—something big I think you should know about.”

“Wait a minute—back up,” I said. “When did Taylor
say that? When did you talk to her?”

“Last night.” She suddenly sounded guarded.
“Look, I’m sorry it didn’t work out between the two of you. I hope you know the
role I played was strictly professional—I have no interest in taking sides.”

“What role did you play?” I growled, tightening
my grip on the phone case until it creaked in my hand. “What did you do to her,
Gwendolyn? What did you
fucking do?”

“I only did what she asked me to do,” she said
levelly. “Like I said, it’s not personal and it’s not what I’m calling you
about. I need to tell you something about the person who put the trap on your
land.”

“I’ll be right there,” I snapped. In the front
seat I could hear Addison telling Corbin to take the turn-off for Ybor City.
Luckily, we hadn’t passed it yet.

“I’ll be waiting but I expect you to keep a civil
tongue in your head,” Gwendolyn said. “Blaming me for what happened between you
and Taylor makes about as much sense as blaming the divorce lawyer for your
divorce.”

My heart traveled up into my throat and stayed
there. Divorce? What the hell was she talking about? I hung up without saying
goodbye.

Corbin made the turn and before I knew it we were
whizzing down the dark streets of central Ybor and pulling up in front of the witch’s
pale yellow house.

Gwendolyn met us at the door with a frown on her
face, which changed to a look of surprise when she saw Addison and Corbin as
well.

“What are the two of you doing here?” she asked
and for the first time there was a tinge of fear in her voice. “Look, I told
you, it was nothing personal.”

“What did you do?” I demanded, the minute we got
inside her house. “Tell me right now—when you saw Taylor last night,
what did you do?”

“I broke the blood-bond holding her to you—all
right?” Her voice was tense and low.

“You
what?”
Corbin glared at her. “That bond was sanctified by the Goddess and the Laws
of Ownership were
not
satisfied—not
for another two months.”

“Taylor couldn’t wait another two months—she
begged me to do it right away.” Gwendolyn put her arms over her chest. “I only
did what she wanted—she said she wanted to set Victor free.” She nodded at me
and I nearly groaned.

“Because she thought something happened that
didn’t really happen,” I said. “At least not the way she
thinks
it happened.” I frowned at her. “Hey—what time did you break
the bond, anyway? Would it have anything to do with the burning sensation I had
all over my fucking body or the partial heart attack I had right after?”

The witch looked stricken. “You felt it?”

“Yes, I fucking felt it! I ran my truck into a
tree and spent the day unconscious,” I roared.

She took a step back. “Taylor swore you didn’t
love her anymore—you shouldn’t have been able to feel any of it.”

“Of course I still love her,” I growled, trying
to get hold of myself.
“I
never stopped.”
I sank down on her
flowery couch and put my head in my hands. “She divorced me,” I said numbly,
hardly able to believe it. “She fucking
divorced
me without even telling me. God, what a fucking mess.”

“Breaking a sanctified bond was black magic
indeed, witch,” Corbin said soberly. “You will have much to answer for.”

“Taylor thought she had a good reason to break
the bond, though,” Addison interjected. “She was
so
upset last night—when she wasn’t eating, anyway.”

Gwendolyn frowned. “Yes—she said she was hungry
here too. She ate about half a jar of my Grams’ homemade pickles. It was…weird.
I’ve never heard of a vamp who could eat before.”

“Or go into heat. Or go out into the sun,” Addison
added.

Gwendolyn frowned. “Say that again.”

“What—the going into heat part? I really
shouldn’t have told you that.” Addison looked chagrined. “It’s kind of
personal…”

“No, the part about going out into the sun. Did
she really do that?”

“Only for a minute,” I said dully. “I got her
right back inside. All that happened was she got an instant tan.”

“You know, I
thought
she looked tan for a vamp. Going out in the sun, eating…” She looked at me
suddenly. “Look, I hate to ask personal questions but have the two of you been,
uh, you know…making love?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that,” I said
heavily. “But yeah, we had sex. Not that it’s any of your Goddamned business,
witch.”

Gwendolyn seemed not to hear my insult. She had a
preoccupied look on her face, as though she was trying to remember something
important. “Going into heat, screwing a werewolf, going out in the sun…” she
muttered to herself. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. “That’s it—
that’s it!
I’ll be right back.”

“What’s all
that
about?” Addison asked.

“I don’t know.” Corbin looked troubled. “But I
have a feeling it isn’t good, darling.”

“Here. Here it is.” Gwendolyn came hurrying back
into the room with a huge, dusty, crumbling book cradled carefully in her arms.
“It’s Grams’ old grimoire,” she explained. “It has spells handed down for
generations but it also has a whole section on supernatural lore. She used to
let me look at it when I was a little girl if I was very,
very
careful. There was one part that always fascinated me but I
haven’t thought of it in years. Hang on…it’s here somewhere…” She was scanning
rapidly through the ancient book as she talked. Finally she came to a page
filled with spidery writing and a drawing of a howling wolf done in faded brown
ink.

“What does it say?” Addison asked. “The
handwriting is so curly and elaborate it’s hard to read.”

“Only to your modern eyes, darling,” Corbin
murmured. “Allow me.” He looked at Gwendolyn. “May I?”

She nodded and he began to read out loud.

“
When
she of the night

Drinks from he of the day

The curse of the moon

May the sun’s curse allay.

When she succumbs

To the were’s Scarlet Heat

And is bred by the wolf

Then meat may she eat

And nevermore fear

The sun’s golden light

When she drinks from the one

Who howls in the night.”

Corbin frowned. “There seems to be another stanza but it is too badly
smudged…”

“Oh my God—that’s it! That’s
it!”
Gwendolyn interrupted. “Taylor
is the fulfillment of the prophecy. I
knew
there was something weird
about her eating pickles—it’s been bothering me ever since I saw her.”

“When
did
you last see her?” I demanded. “What time did you
finish doing our fucking ‘divorce’?”

She stiffened. “Taylor left right after I was finished and that’s all I
know. You’re going to have to get over the bond breaking, though. I
thought
I
was doing her a favor.”

“What you’ve done is made her vulnerable to every other supernatural
creature in the Tampa Bay area,” Corbin said, frowning. “She is still a very
young vampire and if any other creature should learn about her new talents—”

“But how could they?” Addison objected. “Roderick’s dead and she’s out
of Celeste’s power—”

“Did you say Celeste?” Gwendolyn’s creamy brown skin had suddenly gone
pale.

“Yes—she’s the one who made Taylor into a vamp in the first place.
Against her will, I might add.” Addison sounded pissed. “She treated her like
dirt the entire time she had Taylor in her power—why?”

“Because…” Gwendolyn turned to me. “That’s what I wanted to tell you
when I called you in the first place. The scent on the cursed trap you brought
me—it was were. But something about it felt wrong—too obvious. So I worked a
discovery spell on it anyway and I found another presence underneath. It might
have been a were who placed that trap on your land, but the person who had it
made and paid for it in the first place was—”

“Celeste,” I finished for her in a whisper.

Gwendolyn nodded. “I’m afraid so. But the name didn’t mean anything to
me—until now.”

“Why would Celeste do such a thing?” Addison demanded. “Taylor’s free
of her since Corbin took her away—isn’t she?”

“She was free so long as she was under the protection of the blood-bond,”
Corbin said grimly. “I told you once, my darling, that Celeste had impeccable
instincts about finding those who were meant to be born to darkness—who would
make good vampires.”

“But…but Taylor
wasn’t
a very good vampire,” Addison objected.
“I mean, not until recently, apparently.” She looked at me.

“She wasn’t so good at first,” I said dully. “But lately her
skills…they were really coming along. She could glamour and heal…” I shivered
when I thought of her little pink tongue licking me, healing me and couldn’t go
on.

“I don’t think it was Taylor’s skills or lack thereof that Celeste was
interested in,” Corbin said. “If she somehow knew about this prophecy, if she
had any idea of what Taylor was capable of becoming…”

“What—a vampire who can eat fast food?” Addison said.

He shook his head. “Eating is the least of it. If Taylor has fulfilled
this prophecy, she could become a vampire who walks in the day. A being who has
all of our power and none of our limitations.
That
is significant.”

“But I’ve known interracial couples before,” Gwendolyn objected. “I
mean, vamp/were couples. They all had their little kinks and quirks but none of
them ever became day-walkers or whatever the hell you want to call it.”

“This must be a special case. There is more to this prophecy than meets
the eye.” Corbin looked at the book again. He flipped the page revealing
another drawing in the same, faded brown ink. “Or is there? Well, well…what is
this?”

I stared at the page, feeling suddenly cold all over. Except for my
brand—it was burning like molten lead eating into the skin of my lower back.
The drawing was of a creature that was neither man nor wolf but stuck somewhere
in between. It was what humans thought of when they said “wolfman” and what
weres thought of when they said “cursed.”

“What
is
that thing?” Addison said, sounding mystified. “It’s
not a normal werewolf, is it?”

“No,” Corbin said quietly. “Not normal at all.”

I looked up to see him studying me.

“It’s a were who bears the curse,” I said hoarsely. “One who can’t go
among others of his kind or take a mate. Who is doomed to be alone forever
because of the beast inside.”

“I see.” He nodded slowly and looked at Gwendolyn. “And would you know
the last stanza of this prophecy, witch?”

She cleared her throat and recited.

“Half
man and half beast

Cursed
to draw breath

The
other wolves fear him

For
his name is death.”

“And that’s you?” Addison looked at me with wide eyes. “That’s why
Taylor went into heat and started to change, because you’re this…this special
kind of were?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it
special
,” I growled, glaring at her.
“There’s a reason they call it a fucking curse. It’s a hell of a thing but I
never expected it to affect anyone but me. I didn’t even know about this damn
prophecy until tonight.”

“So…what?” Gwendolyn said, frowning. “Is Celeste trying to get Taylor
back for herself so she can control her—use her to run errands during the day
or something?”